224 SERMONS UPON ROMANS VI. [SeR. VIII.
the life of Christ, without which it could not subsist. If he had remained under a state of death, he were not in a capacity to convey life to others, and so had neither been a fountain of grace or glory to us ; therefore his resurrection is the fountain -cause of our living to God ; having first purchased grace for us, he is risen to apply it, and bring us into possession of it. Therefore he sendeth his Spirit into the hearts of his people, even that same Spirit by which he was raised up to a new life : Rev. i. 18, ' I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore.' He liveth for ever to make and keep us alive. Now this is a mighty encouragement to us, that we live by virtue of Clirist's endless life. When the fountain faileth, the stream may be dried up, but that cannot be, and therefore we are encouraged to expect our supplies from him.
5. Christ's life after his resurrection is a pattern of ours, both as to the immortality and perfection of it.
[1.] The immortality. Christ, when he rose again, rose to an eternal immortal life. He shall die no more ; he is no more obnoxious to death. The phrases that express the immortality of Christ's life are suited to our case, that he may the better be propounded as a pattern to us, both of what we ought to endeavour ourselves, and of what his Spirit doth work in us.
(1.) Being raised, he dieth no more. We should once so fix and settle our hearts to live to God that we should no more return to our old course and our old bondage. There are some who are always dying, and rising, and dying again, that return to their old sins, and lick up their vomit, and after they are washed wallow in the mire. These never died in good earnest, for then they would so die unto sin once as not to revert to it any more ; but to be repenting of sin, and committing of sin, and then repenting and committing again, showeth our mortification is not sincere. A bone often broken in the same place is very hard to be set again. Eelapses make our case to be more dangerous ; if it be into open sinful courses, it showeth our repentance is not sincere. Men are sick of sin ; but when that trouble is over, they presently are as bad as they were before : Prov. xxiv. 11, ' As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.' Their hearts were never changed, their renounced sins and fleshly practices are as dear to them as ever. True repentance will produce a constant perseverance in well-doing ; but if the unclean spirit returneth, after it seemed to be cast out, Luke xi. 24, we never parted in good earnest. Was your repentance sincere, and will you taste of the bitter waters again ? Indeed we must distinguish of relapses.
(1st.) As to the degrees of sin, there are infirmities which we can- not avoid while we are in the body ; and there are iniquities which we can and ought to avoid. A man that is troubled with vain and distracting thoughts in prayer may be troubled again, but of gross and wilful sins we never soundly repented if we cease not from them, ixtaa- fiara koct/jlov, ' the pollutions of the world,' spoken of 2 Peter ii. 20. Doth a man repent of his uncleanness that often faileth into it, as often as the occasion returneth ? So again —
(2d.) As to the seasons of sinning, we must distinguish between the acts repeated before any repentance professed or after. An issue
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wlien it is new made, before the orifice of the wound be well closed, may bleed afresh after it is bound up. So before we are thoroughly recovered, sin will be breaking out ; as in Lot's double incest ; Samson's returning often to Delilah, when God had rebuked him for his sin ; Peter's treble denials ; his heart was not thoroughly touched and moulded as yet; this was as one continued sin.
(3d.) As to the manner of the return, if it be frequently, readily, easily, this will infer a habit ; for a habit serveth ut quis facile, mcunde, constanfer agaf. Now though some sins solicit us more than others, yet uprightness requireth that we should keep ourselves from our iniquity : Ps. xviii. 23, M was also upright before him, and I kept myself from my iniquity.' So that repentance which consists only in sorrow for sin, and such trouble for it as doth not mortify it, is but like thawing a little in the sunshine, or giving weather, soft at top and hard at bottom. True repentance is a thorough change of heart and life ; therefore to repent and go on still in our trespasses is no sound repentance.
(2.) Death hath no dominion over him ; so should not sin have over us. After all our care sin will be troublesome, but it must be kept out of the throne. If men forsake not known wilful sins, they are wicked men ; sin reigneth, and the power of it is no way broken ; therefore let it not have dominion, so as to draw you to a sensual life, or command your thoughts and affections, or ingross your time and strength : Ps. xix. 13, ' Ke^p back thy servant also from presump- tuous sins ; let them not have dominion over me, so shall 1 be upright and free from the great transgression.' As to the merit, there needeth not another sacrifice ; and to the conveyance and making over the blessings of the gospel, there needeth not another covenant. So as to the ap2)lication , there needeth not another regeneration or total con- version unto God ; as also our baptism, which is the sign of it, needeth not to be repeated or reiterated, though the acts of our faith and repentance need often to be repeated. For all known sins it is expressly required ; for sins of ignorance and lesser escapes, they are pardoned of course, and as they are retracted in a general repentance. Well, then, let us so rise to newness of life as never to return to our old sins again, at least let them not have dominion over us. Baptism is the sacrament of our regeneration and implanting into Christ, and recep- tion into God's family ; and as we are born but once, so we are but once new-born. Being once received into God's family, we are never cast out thence : being once adopted into the number of his children, we are never disinherited. No ; ' The gifts and calling of God are without repentance,' Rom. xi, 29.